Friday, March 29, 2013

For this one, I stamped the image twice so I could fussy cut out the head with the collar and the basket. Everything is colored with Copic markers and Canary flock was added to the edge of the collar, the base of the party hat, and the ball on top of the party hat. The hat itself, along with the Easter eggs are covered with SNS glitter. To see exactly which ones, please visit my SNS Art Gallery, here. The sentiment is heat embossed using Amethyst Spray embossing powder and die cut from a Memory Box Primo Labels die.

I adhered the head directly on top of the main image and even though I didn't use any dimensional dots for this part, it gives it just enough added dimension. I pop dotted the bottom of the Easter basket and adhered the handles directly to the page.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

To create the background, I used the Masking on Glitter technique from SNS Tips and Techniques section. (You can find the tutorial here.) This is also a variation of the Double Glitter technique. To create my mask, I die cut my MFT border from a scrap left over from the super adhesive sheet and laid it on top of a piece of cardstock that I covered with the super adhesive sheet. Cover the entire thing with Frosted Carmine velvet glitter. Be sure to burnish it in with your finger tip. After you've brushed off the excess, remove the mask and cover this area with Hanauma Bay glitter. I love how these two glitters look together. I also covered my brads with the Hanauma Bay glitter as well.

For the focal point, I die cut a pice of black cardstock with a Spellbinders die and covered it with a soon-to-be-released product called Velvet Shimmer (Trans-Blue) by SNS. It's a shimmery paint that has bits of velvet glitter in it and it gives you a very shimmery, yet subtle look. I really like the way it looks on the black cardstock. You can see the bits of glitter in this close-up view. Next I stamped my image and sentiment with Perfect Medium and covered them with Perfect Pearls (biscotti). I added a few gems and this card is all ready to be given to someone special. Lots of bling and shimmer on this one, so the recipient may need to wear sunglasses. :-)

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Easter's on it's Way and the Easter Bunny needs all the help he can get getting all those eggs decorated. Hippity Hoppity Easter is one of the new stamp sets from Sparkle N Sprinkle and I've incorporated three of the rubber stamps into this card and lots and lots of glitter and flock!

The basket was heat embossed with Tequila Sunrise embossing powder, fussy cut out, and colored with Copic markers. To see all the flocking and glitters I used on each of the eggs, please visit my SNS Art Gallery, here. Distress Ink (Dusty Concord) and Clear Detail embossing powder were used to create the sentiment. The grass is a die from MFT and I pop dotted it in front of the rest of the eggs just waiting to be discovered in the grass. The backdrop is the Fleur de Lis square from Spellbinders.

I'm always admiring Joan's button treatment on her cards, so I thought I would try it too. I used a fairly thick hemp cording, tied a multiple loop bow and tied the button to it. It was fun mixing and matching the glitters and flocks to color these eggs and almost as fun as coloring real eggs.

Monday, March 25, 2013

When I received the Crystal Chandelier from the March release of Die-Versions, I thought it was very versatile and could be used in so many ways. (If you missed my whimsical version, you can see that here.) For this one, I die cut the image from a double sided adhesive sheet and covered most of the image with Diamond Dust for a chunky, sparkly look. The candles are covered with Cloud Nine velvet glitter and the glittery flames are colored with Copics. The background was sprited with Dylusions Ink Sprays (love the bright colors of these sprays).

My sentiment is from Unity Stamps and is heat embossed with Black Detail embossing powder. I pleated the bottom "ribbon" from a scrap piece of cardstock and added a bit of lace on top. Theoretically, I guess I should have sewn the top of the pleats to keep them closed, but I haven't quite gotten up the nerve to sew on paper yet (so I used my heavy duty adhesive tape).

I hope you've been checking the Die-Version Blog to see what the rest of the team has been coming up with. There are some really adorable projects that you won't want to miss!

Friday, March 22, 2013

It's time for a new challenge from Pattie's Creations and this week we'd like to see your Easter cards. I designed an Easter basket from a Grand Scallop circle die and paper weaved the front. I added handles and buttons to complete the basket. The star of the basket is this Decorated Easter Egg from Pattie's Etsy store.

I've lightly colored the image with Copic markers, added glitter to the centers of the flowers and flock to the center border. This gives it a lot of dimension, not to mention lots of sparkle. Now all I have to do is add a few pieces of candy or Peeps and my Easter basket is all ready to be given to someone.

Thursday, March 21, 2013

This is the new Sweet Petite Old Lamp from the March Die-Versions release. After spritzing a scrap of cardstock with Dylusions Ink Sprays and cutting it into small pieces, I created the mosaic on an ATC sized cardstock. The "grout" between the tiles is glitter (Waterfall and Evening Glow) from Sparkle N Sprinkle. The lamshade was paper pieced from a scrap of patterned paper. Most of the other embellishments are different Tim Holtz stuff.

Be sure to see all the other vintage looking dies that were released this month ans check out the Die-Versions Blog for some great inspiration from Pam and Gail.

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

I recently purchased some of the Dylusions Ink Sprays and I can't tell you how much fun I've had using them. The colors are so bright and the nozzle doesn't clog. Now I want every color! I used Pure Sunshine, Bubblegum Pink, and Lemon Zest to create this bright mat for my berries. The image and sentiment are part of a new stamp set from Sparkle N Sprinkle called Sweet Strawberries.

This is one of those cards that a photo doesn't really do it justice. I stamped the image onto watercolor paper and used my Peerless Transparent watercolors and a water brush to color the image and then die cut the image with a Lifestyle Crafts nesting die. I also used the next size up to create my green mat. For the bow, I found a piece of scrap cardstock slightly larger than my die (from Lil' Inker Designs) and covered it with double sided adhesive and applied Turquoise flock over the entire thing. Burnish it well with your fingers and then die cut the bow out. Before assembling the bow, I stamped my sentiment on the loops with Staz-On ink. It feels so soft and velvety. Definitely one of those things you want to touch.

How fun is this new stamp set, Serena Mermaid, from Sparkle N Sprinkle? So many ideas came to mind when I first saw this set. The first thing I did was to make my water scene by applying Copic markers, using long strokes, to white cardstock. Then I added a soon-to-be-released new product from SNS called Velvet Shimmer. It's a shimmery paint with bits of velvet glitter added to the mix and it gives a very subtle, shimmery look to whatever you paint it on. To create the rest of the underwater scene, I stamped all my images directly onto the water background. I also stamped them onto white cardstock so I could color them and fussy cut them out (don't worry about all the little curly cues). Once that was done, I adhered them directly onto the stamped waterbackground. This allows the curly cues to still be seen without having to worry about cutting them out and it gives the images just a hint of dimension.

Serena is colored with Copic markers and her tail is covered with Moonrise and Deep Royal tinsel glitter. The centers of the flowers have a touch of Celestial glitter, as do all the starfish, sea shells, and sea horses. I heat embossed the sentiment onto mirror blue cardstock with Sangria Star embossing powder. The three panels behind the image use the Debossed embossing technique (see tutorial here) and are heat embossed with Tuscan Star embossing powder and a Spellbinders M-Bossabilities embossing folder, and layered onto the mirror blue cardstock. The final layer brings back the tan color and I distressed the edges. For more details on how I created this card, you can visit my SNS Art Gallery.

Monday, March 18, 2013

This pillow box is perfect to showcase two of the new dies from the March release by Die-Versions. It combines one of the new Sweet Spots - Bon Voyage with one of the new Sweet Petites - Old Suitcase. You can find the template on how to make your own pillow boxes here.

Tim Holtz's Lost and Found paper stack was a great choice for the pillow box and complimented the travel theme of these two dies perfectly. To create the leathery, yet shimmery look of the suitcase and the sentiment, I heat embossed a scrap of cardstock with Tuscan Sun embossing powder from Sparkle N Sprinkle. It already has a bit of glitter in the embossing power, so it gave it a pebbled, leathery look. After cutting out the dies, I inked up the straps and and handle for the suitcase with Copic markers and used My Micro font from Die-Versions to create the luggage tag.

I also added a scrap of cream cardstock to the back of the Sweet Spot and traced around the letters, so it would pop a bit more, plus it gives it more stability.

Head on over to the Die-Versions blog to see the other great creations using this month's release.

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Happy St. Patty's Day to ya! How about this for a fun tag to get you in the spirit? The image is one of several from the Free Spirited Hat Ladies stamp sets from Sparkle N Sprinkle. When I saw her, I knew she'd be perfect for what I had in mind. The image is colored with Copic markers and fussy cut out. For the shamrocks, I used a (very) old die from Sizzix that has long since been retired (one of those chunky Originals) and covered them with Luau Green velvet glitter. The sentiment is the My Micro Die-Versions font and is adhered to the stitched sentiment flag die cut from Lil' Inker Designs.

As you can see from the close up, I applied pop dots to certain portions of the image, usually opposite sides (one foot and the opposite hand) as I wanted her to really look like she was dancing. All of this was adhered to a tag covered with patterned paper. For the base, I ran some green cardstock that I cut to resemble a larger tag, through my crimping tool. I randomly added a bit of Distress Inks (Vintage Photo, Gathered Twigs) to the raised areas.

This tag is really sparkly and glittery in person and makes me smile every time I see it as she looks like she's having so much fun.

Saturday, March 16, 2013

This is one of the new rubber stamp sets from Sparkle N Sprinkle, called Hippity Hoppity Easter. This is a quick and easy card to put together. I heat embossed the sentiment and the eggs with Cerulean embossing powder and then covered the entire thing with 2 1/2" Tear-ific tape and Cloud Nine velvet glitter. Using Distress Markers, I colored the eggs and highlighted certain words. Love coloring with markers on this velvet glitter. It gives you an amazing look and is oh-so-easy. You can read more about this technique here, in the SNS Tips and Techniques section.

Here is a close up so you can see the glittery goodness better. For more details on how this was put together, you can view my SNS Art Gallery, here. You can also check

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

This month's Sparkle N Sprinkle blog hop is all about using your Favorite Techniques. That's a really hard one for me as I love to try new techniques all the time. For this one though, I decided to use a slight variation of an old favorite - the Wrinkle Free technique. I also used two different rubber stamps: the Deco Gate and one of the ladies from the Art Deco Ladies stamp set.

Deco Gate partially opened

Deco Gate open

Instead of using Distress Inks and spritzing with water, I used Fireworks! spritzes (Cantaloupe, Dandelion, and Tangelo) by Tsukineko. I poured the colors directly onto my craft mat and ran my glossy paper through the puddles of color. Both the base and the focal point were done the same way, using the same colors. The difference between the two is that on the base one, I blotted up the excess color with a paper towel, thereby leaving a more subtle color variation. This color matches her skin tone much more. I also ran this layer through a Spellbinders embossing folder. The top layer was allowed to air dry, leaving a much more vibrant color variation.

I used VersaMark ink and Brown Fizz, a wonderfully glittery embossing powder to create the image. I colored the remaining portions with Copic markers and fussy cut her out so she could be the surprise when the Deco Gate is opened. The Deco Gate was heat embossed with Gold Detail and fussy cut out. You need to cut through the center of the stamped image as well. When you adhere it to the background, make sure you only attach the edges of the gate, so that it will open.

Place the Art Deco Lady behind the Deco Gate and close. Stamp the sentiment, also from the Art Deco Ladies stamp set, onto the tag, which is die cut with Lil' Inker Designs stitched sentiment flag die.

Hopefully you came from Shona's blog. If not, you may want to start at the beginning at the Sparkle N Sprinkle blog. There are some wonderful prizes to be won, but in order to be eligible, you must comment on each of the designer's blogs. Three of the prizes are hidden on three different designers blogs (even we don't know which ones). You'll have two days to leave comments, so plenty of time. I hope you've enjoyed the technique I've shown today. Now it's time to head on over to Karalee and see what technique she used. Good luck and thanks for joining us today. Hope you learn some great new techniques.

Monday, March 11, 2013

To start off, I die cut the chandelier twice so that it would have a more realistic look. I colored both pieces with Copic markers and added Diamond Dust to the crystal drops. After everything was dry, I glued the center spindle of the second one directly on top of the first one and gently folded the arms out, giving it a great visual effect.

I stamped and colored the undies (rubber stamps from Doodle Factory) with Copics and fussy cut them out so they would hang from the chandelier. The card base is actually a thick piece of vellum that I recycled from some junk mail. I heat embossed Black Detail (from Sparkle N Sprinkle) embossing powder for my sentiment, which is a rubber stamp by Art Impressions. I inserted a piece of patterned paper on the inside, to simulate wallpaper. The vellum is quite opaque, so it doesn't show up well in the photos. Even in person, it's quite subtle.

You are definitely going to want to visit both the Die-Versions Blogand theDie-Versions Facebookpage to see the rest of the March release and to see all the fabulous creations the design team has come up with this month.

Sunday, March 10, 2013

These new Gas Lamp Sign dies from Die-Versions remind me of Victorian England, so I wanted to create something along those lines. The Gentleman is a rubber stamp from CowTown Stamps and the cobblestones were stamped with a Beeswax Stamp (stone floor). Pan Pastels were used to make the night sky, complete with twinkling stars (Celestial glitter from Sparkle N Sprinkle).

Friday, March 8, 2013

Are you ready for the next challenge from Pattie's Creations? I hope so because it's a fun one! We want you to get out your green in honor of St. Patrick's Day. If you don't celebrate St. Patty's Day, you can still participate, just make sure the main color is green. It can even be your base cardstock.

I love celebrating St. Patty's Day and seeing all the green, not to mention the wearin' o' the green too. Although I've used an image typically associated with leprechauns and St. Patrick's Day, Pot of Gold, the sentiment I've chosen makes it more universal and is still an Irish saying. I'll be sending this to a friend of mine for her birthday, who just happens to be Irish.

I printed the image twice so I could fussy cut out the coin and layer them on top of each other for more dimension. They are colored with Copic markers and then I added Glossy Accents to them for more shine. The clover is covered with Luau Green velvet glitter from Sparkle N Sprinkle and the background was created using Pan Pastels. I also added Luau Green glitter to my brads too. I wrote the Irish saying on a piece of vellum that I cut with a Spellbinders die.

So now it's your turn to show us your green. You have two weeks to upload your creation to the Pattie's Creations Design Challenge. Be sure to visit the rest of the design team to see what they've done to inspire you too.

"May the Irish hills caress you.
May her lakes and rivers bless you.
May the luck of the Irish enfold you.
May the blessings of Saint Patrick behold you."

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